Sisters file lawsuit in salmonella contamination case

Two Macomb County sisters claim in a lawsuit that a Sterling Heights restaurant sold them food that included raw meat contaminated with salmonella.

Mary Ann Thomas and Sara Joseph said they required emergency medical attention and wound up hospitalized for seven days in December. The women said they were sickened after eating a Lebanese dish called kibbeh prepared by Ike’s Restaurant in Sterling Heights.

“We certainly expect food to be safe,” said Michael Heilmann, the attorney for the women.

In addition to the restaurant, the lawsuit names Jouni Meats in Sterling Heights and Gab Halal Foods of Troy as defendants. The two are retail meat processing businesses. They each voluntarily recalled more than 500 pounds of ground beef last month when the businesses learned of possible contamination.

According to the lawsuit, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Jan. 25 a salmonella typhimurium outbreak traced to meat at the two processing locations. The lawsuit also contends seven of 16 confirmed cases of salmonella had eaten contaminated ground beef in the kibbeh produced at Ike’s. The restaurant had acquired the meat from Jouni and Gab Halal, according to the lawsuit.

Thomas and Joseph said they ate the kibbeh as part of a carry-out order purchased from Ike’s on Dec. 8, 2012. The sisters were not aware they were eating raw beef, the lawsuit contends.

“They thought they were eating lamb,” Heilmann said.

The women became ill within a few days and were rushed to local hospitals for treatment.

“They were very ill,” the lawyer said.

According to the lawsuit, Thomas is an MRI technician and Joseph a part-time worker at a local high school. Both missed substantial time from work because of their illness, the lawsuit contends.

Ike El-Alam, owner of Ike’s, said he and his staff were not responsible for the contaminated meat. If the meat was contaminated, it was that way when they received it, El-Alam said.

“We are victims just like everybody else,” he said. “We do exactly what we’re supposed to do (when preparing food).”